Wheel.



No'. 731,643. PATBNTED JUNE 23, 1903; W. P. YANCBY.

WHEEL.

APPLIGAT'ION FILED JULY 1o, 1902.

IOMODEL;

me nms Patins ca. worammo., wAsmNsmN. n. c.

` UNITED STATES atented june 23, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 731,848, dated June 23, 1903 r Application filed July 10, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

AwA

l tion.

Beit knownthat l, WILLIAM PAUL YANCEY, a citizen" of theUnited States, residing at Tampa, in the county of Hillsboro and State of Florida, haveinvented a new and-useful IVheel, of Which the following is a specifica- The present in ven tion relates to Wheels, paruseful upon bicycles, trieycles, and indeed `upon all kinds of vehicles, as Will appear in the following specification.

The object thereof is to pro vide an improved `structure Which Will run smoothly over a specification, and it Will be noted that paved street or unpaved roadway and when upon a soft orsandy road Will not sink deeply into the saine, but Will have anengagement therewith to prevent slipping.

The invention will be readily understood upon reference to the accompanying drawings, taken in connection With 'the following the invention is open to various changes.

\ invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective viewl of a `small portion of a vehicle-Wheel constructed in accordance with the present Fig. 2 is alongitudinal sectional View through the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional. views showing slightly modified forms of construction.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the 3. drawings. A

\ As the invention relates to the rim of the Wheel, the views have been limited to portions of the same which it is believed sufficientlyr illustrate the arrangement. In the construetion illustratedV in the first tWo figures this -rim is made up of a f elly 10, upon Which is 4o placed a cushion of compressible material l1, preferably composed of rubber. Overthis is placed a metallic `tire 12, said tire having openings 13 therein. These openings are preferablyrectangular in form, one of the end and both side Walls 14 and l5, respectively, being disposed in convergent relation. The

. other end `Wall 16 is not so arranged, but is preferably disposed at substantially right angles to the face of thetire, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. In the preferred form the opening 13 extends entirely through vthe tire, and in order to prevent the Wear upon the portions of sefiainmilaoii. (Numan.) w

the rim beneath the same a plate or strip 17 is interposed between the tire and the cush ion ll, said plate or strip-being formed of suitable metal.

In Fig. 8 a slightly-modified form of rim is shown. In this instance the construction is exactly the same, With the exception of the cushion 1l, which is dispensed with. This form may be substituted for the above-described structure when desired. Inlike manner the Wear e strip 17 may be omitted, as

shown in Fig. 4.

As a result of the arrangement it will be seen that the outer face of the tire is smooth, so that -thewheel will travel over a pavement Without injuring the same in any manner. Furthermore, When running over a soft 0r sandy road the Wheel if broad enough Will only sink into the saine a depth equal to the thickness of the tire, because of the additional bearing-surface aiforded by the bottoms of the openings or sockets, said bottoms being formed. by the Wear-plate, which. closes the inner' ends of said openings. Further than this, the tire as it comes down upon the sand or soft earth does not tend to displace it to the sides of the rim, as in the ordinary tire, for it incloses a considerable portion, thereby preventing the same being pushed to one side. As this inclosed earth cannot escape in either direction While the Weight of the Wheel is thereon, it must necessarily assist in supporting the Wheel and preventing its sinking into the road. As a result the Wheel will not slip because of the soil engaging in the sockets. The tapering construction of the Walls of the openings is also advantageous, as it permits the earth to readily drop from the same, and thus prevent clogging. At the same time the right-angu`- larly-disposed Walls 16 constitute shoulders that Will more securelyprevent slipping, th ese shoulders being' so arranged that they Will constitute the front Walls of the sockets When the Wheel is running. The interposed cushion will to a great extent absorb the shocks and jars7 though, as already stated, this may be dispensed With When so desired.

The term rim as used in the specification and claims is intended to designate the peripheral portion of the Wheel as a Whole, and said rim therefore may be of one piece Ico or made up of several distinct elements, including the tire, felly, &c., as shown in the several figures.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be under` stood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction.- may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. For instance, the rim and; tire might be formed integral and the sockets cut in the outer face of the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, :is-

`l. In 1a wheel, the combination with afellyy portion having a flat outer face, of a iiat -me-V tallic ltire surrounding the 'felly portion andl having'openin gs therethrough, said felly portion completely closing the inner ends of the' openings.

2. In a wheel, the combination with a felly, of va tire surrounding the felly and having openings therethrough, and a wearpl ate in'terposed between the felly and tire and closing the inner ends of the openings through the latter.

3. IIn a wheel, the combination with afelly, of a 'tire surrounding theA felly and having openings'therethrough, awear-pl ate arranged beneath'the felly and closing the inner ends of the openings, and a compressible cushion interposed between the felly and wear-plate.

4. lIn a wheel, a rim `having sockets in its outer face, said sockets each having portions of its walls arranged in convergent relation, and a transversely-disposed portion that does not converge, the latter portion constituting a shoulder, the smaller ends of the sockets be# ing innermost to permit the accumulated dirt dropping outwardly.

5. In,awheel,arim having rectangularsockets in its outer face, certain portions of the walls of each socket beingdisposed in convergent relation, the remaining portion which is transversely disposed to the rim constituting an antislipping shoulder, the smaller ends of the sockets being innermost to permit the accumulated dirt dropping outwardly.

6. In awheehari'm havingrectanguiar sockets in itso'uter face, three sides of leac'hsocket ybeing-disposed in'convergent reia'tion, the remaining side vbeing arranged transverselyof and at substantially right angles to the outer face of the rim vand constituting a bearingrshoulder, the smallerends of the sockets being innermostto permit'the accumulated dirt dropping outwardly.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing-'as my own I have hereto afxed my signature i-n the rpresence of two witnesses.

VI'LLTAM PAUL lYANCEY. Vitnesses:

N. DIXON, W. B. NEWKIRK. 

